|
||||
|
|
||||
|
Seems I'm over a month overdue for a new entry update!
Anime Angel Beats -- easily the best show of the season. Pick almost any single episode, and there's a good chance it'll both make you laugh out loud and tear up, something not many shows can do. It was hard to tell where the story was going as it had several plot direction twists, but knowing that it's written by the brilliant mind behind Air and Clannad, I was very confident that wherever the story would end up, it'd be awesome -- and it was. My only gripe is that the series seemed to rush through the final episodes (rather than its thirteen episodes, it could have easily spanned twenty-four), but regardless, the ride was insanely entertaining. Plus, who doesn't like TK? That Japanese-stereotypical-American rocks. Also, the OP and ED to the show are both sheer masterpieces, visuals and music alike; I even ordered the OP/ED CD Single (Limited Edition) from Japan, they're that awesome. Still following FullMetal Alchemist Brotherhood, and there are no words to describe how epic this series is getting as it's nearing its final episodes. I wouldn't be hesitant at all to call it one of the best anime shows ever made (and it's not even done yet). Not much else to say that wouldn't qualify as spoilers and that I haven't already mentioned in earlier entries. Kaichou wa Maid-sama started out quite interesting, got a bit dull for a few episodes at some point, but is picking up again for me recently. The general premise feels cliche yet somehow fresh, and Misaki a stereotypical tsundere yet somehow a unique character. Overall I've been enjoying the series so far, and would say it's worth checking out for anyone interested in a slice-of-life romance-comedy (the focus leaning toward comedy). K-ON Season 2 has been better than the first season, though I'm not sure if that says a whole lot, given my continued impression that the K-ON series is severely overrated. However, it's been enjoyable and I've had a few laughs here and there; it just seems like they're trying too hard to make the show "moe," and (for me at least) that kind of backfires most of the time. On a similar note, Hetalia World Series has been pretty good; though the series is also quite overrated, I've been enjoying this season better than previous ones, so far. Started watching Working not too long ago, and though I'm only two episodes in, it's been one of those shows that seems enjoyable and has potential, but for some reason I can't find myself eagerly looking forward to the next episode as with the above shows, similar to how Kobato has been for me (still haven't finished that show either). Also gave Katanagatari a try recently; I'm only one episode into it so far, but it looks interesting, and I'll be checking out more episodes of that sometime. A few weeks back, I found out that Lucky Star was finally released in the US as a complete-season set for an awesome price, so I got that and have been watching the English dub (several times over) while simultaneously working on other things that don't take up the TV. It's pretty neat that even after the fifth/sixth time of watching these episodes, I'm still finding new jokes and references that I hadn't noticed before. The English dub is fantastic as well (excluding Patty's voice), one of few anime shows which I'd say the Japanese and English dubs are done about as equally good (the only other shows immediately coming to mind being FMA and Cowboy Bebop, maybe Haruhi and Death Note). Video-Games Finished Ace Attorney Investigations, which I have to admit doesn't hold a light to the original Ace Attorney trilogy, but is still fun in its own right. As with the other games of the franchise, the final case of the game had a brilliant twist, which I won't get into for reasons of spoilers. On that note, I'm not sure if it's just me getting used to and catching onto the Ace Attorney patterns, but the culprits of each case in AAI have seemed extremely easy to predict, and the cross-examinations (or whatever they're called now) relatively easy to get through, aside from about a handful of tough ones across the whole game. But the slightly lacking challenge aside, it's still been worthwhile to play just for seeing old characters, meeting new characters, and all the fun dialogue among them. Also finished Super Mario Galaxy 2 with 111 Stars. I wasn't much of a fan of the first Mario Galaxy, but the sequel was quite a brilliant game, easily one of my top three favorite Mario platform games (third to Mario 64 and Mario World). I especially liked the Throwback Galaxy (nostalgia win), Supermassive Galaxy (where I discovered the "infinite lives cheat" on my own), and pretty much every rythm-based area. Bioshock 2 is also on my list of games finished this summer so far. It's probably me just used to the general feel and setting of the first game, but the sequel seemed to lack the suspenseful atmosphere of the first game. Other than that, it was pretty awesome; pretty much everything involving the Little Sisters was epic (especially the bit toward the end, nice bit of plot insight there), and setting up Trap Rivets rocks like nothing else. And latest of games I've gone through, Left 4 Dead (1, 2, and The Passing) were fun in local co-op campaign, but I haven't tried any of the online modes due to lack of willingness to get an Xbox Live Gold subscription. I always played as Louis (PILLS HERE!) and Nick (IS THAT A BOTTLE OF PUKE?), while JadeRaven93 played as Francis and Ellis. Fun times, those games. Made some progress in inFamous, though not long before our PS3's Blu-Ray laser stopped working (the system is now in the process of being replaced). Last I left off, I just got the Thunderstorm ability, and seem to be about halfway through completing the last area of the city. A few games I've started (but am nowhere near finishing yet) include New Super Mario Bros Wii (beat the first map), Crackdown (beat one gang leader or whatever they're called), Fallout 3 (got out of the shelter and started wandering), and Advance Wars: Days of Ruin (just started the first campaign map). Then there are other games I have but still need to start, such as Bionic Commando, Mirror's Edge, Little Big Planet, Hotel Dusk: Room 215 (all four of which I got at Hollywood Video as part of their out-of-business sales), Fable II, Jade Empire, and maybe Final Fantasy XIII. E3 2010 was interesting. Microsoft took Nintendo's dull "casual games and motion-sensing gimmicks" approach, Nintendo took Microsoft's exciting "showcase a ton of epic games back-to-back" approach, and Sony found ground somewhere between. Seriously, Nintendo's E3 press conference was so insanely awesome it brought me to man tears several times, practically for every game (aside from Wii Party and Mario Sports Mix) and for the epic stage introduction of Miyamoto. My reaction to Microsoft's conference was inherently one long facepalm throughout (with the exception of the MGS Rising bit), and to that of Sony was basically a "meh." Other Been a lot of procrastination in the department of writing and drawing lately, mainly in writing. I may just need a bit of a push to get me started again; hopefully I'll have more than just Blue Starlight appearing in my Gallery since I've started on my due sketch requests recently, and hopefully I'll make more progress in my upcoming THAF sequel now that I've got myself writing this entry. I have, however, recently updated AR Book 1 to fix some typos and to improve the spine design. Saw Toy Story 3 a few days ago (and a second time just this morning), and it was epic. Not much else to say without spoiling it, except that it was great to see some of my childhood icons back in action again; it was totally worth the eleven-year wait. Just... win. Nindotendofreak showed me this cool band called The Plasmas, who apparently does a bunch of rock remixes of various video-game songs. I've only heard a couple of their songs so far (Brinstar and UN Owen), both of which were pretty good; I'll definitely be listening to more of their work. On topic of video-game remixes, if anyone is interested, here's a YouTube playlist with some of my favorite Touhou remixes. And... that's all for now, I suppose! |
||||
|
|
||||